THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 12, Issue 912, 25 January 1868, Page 3

THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH.

THE FANCY DRESS BALL IN MELBOURNE. The Leader devotes no less than twentytwo columns to the particulars of the Fancy Ball of the 23rd December, given in honour of the visit of the Prince to Victoria ; and to the brilliancy of the scene and the richness of the costumes worn on the occasion, ample justice is done by the Melbourne press. We borrow from the Leader a portion of its descriptive report : — " Knowing that they bad the spacious Exhibition 33uilding at their entire disposal for the evening, the Corporation of Melbourne resolved to be bounteous in their invitations, and accordingly sent them far and wide. As a natural consequence, the ladies have been in a flutter, the shopkeepers of the city have been at their wits' end to discover some means by which they could keep pace with the insatiable demands of their customers for the material out of which the dresses of Monday evening were woven by those whose hands are cunning at the needle. What marvellous 'fabrics have been created by the nimble fingers of the modistes of Melbourne and their assistants, those who attended the ball can bear ample witness. To those who did not, it must be our endeavour, in the following report, to convey some idea of the brilliancy of the scene as it presented itself to the eye, and of the richness of the costumes worn by a large number of the ladies and a lesser number of the gentlemen. , It is hardly necessary to say that the task is a difficult one. Difficult, chiefly because the scene of Monday is one without any parallel in the history of Victoria, and most likely in the history of this continent. In point of fact it was as superior to those which have gone before it as the Exhibition Hall is superior to the ghostly building which now keeps silent watch over that dreary waste land in William-street. There was more light, more brilliant music ; there were more gorgeous dresses, more handsome women, and it may safely be averred a greater diversity of the man kind. Of course there was a reverse to the picture. As there was more of all those things to be noticed, so there was more awkwardness. Some of the men present were very much out of place evidently. Women of ordinary edxication can fit themselves into any position, but the majority of men, when they get out of their ordinary attire, never look particularly as if they liked it. Strange to say, too, they generally get themselves fitted with characters which don't at all suit them. Short men are fond of arraying themselves in the funereal garments of the melancholy Prince of Denmark ; tall, severe-looking men affect the fantastic costume of Touchstone : men with indifferently-developed lower extremities are great iv the pinkest of tights, and men who would possibly have passed muster even in the time of Beau Brummell insist on enveloping themselves to the very heels in the densest of mufflers. But as far as the men are concerned, it can safely be said that it is no fault of theirs if they are not gallant and gay, even as the moonsick cavalier, who, in the days when=we were boys, used to make love in song under the window of the lady who sold him — for goodness knows how many weeks they have been making preparations of a character quite gigantic. Collins - street tailors have laboured at a sort of thing they were not accustomed to, and have brought forth many gorgeous habiliments. Actors of comedy, actors who have never been higher than the ranks of utility, have been besieged by night and by day, in the streets and in their homes, for dresses. Their wardrobes have given forth more than their quota, and the only doubt one might bo inclined to feel is as to whether any of them have so much as a rag left at the bottom of their boxes. May they be forgiven their sins, for they have turned out of hands ruthlessly men attired in the garb of the reign of Charles the Second, and they have convinced them that their costume might have been worn at any period between the day of Harold's death and the signing of Magna Charta. It is not assuming too much to suppose that all the dresses which have appeared on the stage any time during the last half score years have been rehabilitated and once more made fit for presentation. But the fact of their rehabilitation does not interfere with their glossiness or in any way rob them of their sheen. And of i the ladies and their dresses, what more is there to be said in praise than has been written before scores of times ? Judging from their appearance, it is safe enough to arrive at a conclusion that ever since the ball has been spoken of, paterfamilias has had but little peace. There are wives and daughters, and there are young ladies who tell plainly enough by their eyes that they hope to see the Prince soon, and they are all arrayed with elegance, some of them with something more than elegance. There are degrees of comparison, even where ladies' dresses are concerned, but it would not be for us to draw them, even if it were in our power, which it is not. It is not easy to discern, amidst the clouds of lace which float about the room, amidst the rustling of silks, amidst the glitter of jewellery, and the brighter, soul- ' enlivening gleam of eyes, inspired with happiness, which, for the time at least, is pervading ; it is not easy to set your mind on any prosaic description, and it seems, as it were, enough to write that the fancy dress ball will not be the least pleasant of the Prince's memories of his tour through the Australian colonies. Visitors commenced to arrive at the Exhibition Building on Monday evening shortly before 9 o clock, and they continued to pour in in a steady stream till near midnight. There were several rooms fitted up for the accommodation of the ladies and gentlemen who attended, and the arrangements which were made for the disposal of hats and cloaks were very good. The supper was laid out in the carriage annexe, the caterer being Mr. Miller. He provided for 3000. It would be hard to tell what may be the next feeling which will be incited in those whose duty it is to watch and chronicle the events attending the progress of his Eoyal Highness in Victoria. The Mayor and Corporation of Melbourne have done right well, so far as they have been concerned in the reception of the Prince. Englishmen have hitherto been accustomed, from the nature of things in connection with civic feasts and balls, to look for something gorgeous and great, and to accept those features of entertainments as a matter of course. If Victorians, however, continue to be feted in the way in which they have been of late, and each new effort continue to surpass the previous one, they will be stimulated to look for a daily supply of splendour in matters connected with entertainments that will without fail constitute them a most exquisite community of epicures. At the civic banquet I had imagined that the very acme of possible decoration had been attained, and was surprised be) f ond measui'e when I found that Mr. Baillie, under Mr. Knight's instructions, by a slight change in arrangements had given a new aspect to the whole place, and rendered it as completely decorated a ballroom tis it had been before a banquetting hall. The arrangements in the supper room were superior to. and unlike anything

yet produced in Victoria in regard to the draping and illuminating of the hall. As to those congregated, motley was the only wear. Cowled monks and courtly dames each played their part. Clerical dignitaries were jostled by and stopped to administer grave rebukes to eccentric Pierrots, who exhibited marks of penitence or otherwise, as suited the whim of the moment. A veritable personation of Coleridge's devil, " switching his tail," administered to me a shake of the hand so vigorous that involuntary thoughts of youthful stories of bodily seizures in similar assemblies came over me. A shepherd with a hook was to be seen fraternising with a priestess of Buddha. Highland "lassies," with the springy step which is only acquired on carpets of heather marched along in amiable juxtaposition with the Sidier Hoy of the Sassenach, another inevitable man with the weak legs, who will appear in a kilt of some unknown tartan. Stockmen in spurs made mischief with ladies' trains, and ladies without spurs made mischief with the comforts of stockmen in return. Boadicea and Caractacus forgot the wrongs of the Iceni and the ancient Briton, and stretched out the right hand of fellowship to ancient Roman warriors and to modern Roman maidens without stint or revengeful feelings. Vivandieres carried their canteens with a grace and vivacity unmatched oft the operatic stage. A Chinese dignitary, evidently a blood relation of the Great Dragon, made a dignified salaam to Sairey Gamp, and, alas for the equanimity of the Son of the Sun, his courtesy was received by that lady with an audible allusion to Mrs. Harris. # Die Vernon coquetted in suggestive proximity with the red cap of Liberte, and Cardinal Mazarin once more stalkedamid the scenes he loved, and made one of his wonted neat speeches to the young lady whose feminity could not be hid by the gracefully disposed barrister's wig and gown. A Paul Pry "to the manner born " annoyed many with whom he came in contact by his faithful observance of the role he had undertaken. Neptune flirted with flower girls, and Amphitrite exhibited her contempt for such unhusbandlike conduct by making obtrusive demonstrations towards a little middy, while Britannia standing by, leaning on the arm of a sailor, watched the proceeding. Prophet, priest, and king, each trod their respective paths. A scene was presented never equalled in Victoria, and not often exceeded elsewhere, when the band, starting into the well-known air of " God Save the Queen," announced THE AEBIVAIi OF THE PBINCE. The Prince entered from the south side of the hall, and the ever-shifting and restless throng which had been parading the floor each as listed his or her own will, fell at once into order, and left an open passage down the centre of the room for H.E.H., his Excellency, and the others accompanying them. His Royal Highness was accompanied by the members of his suite and some of the officers of H.M. s.s. Galatea. His Excellency, accompanied by his aide-de-camp and private secretary, Lady Manners Sutton and the Misses Manners Sutton. The Lady Mayoress and the Worshipful the Mayor were also of the royal party. His Royal Highness appeared in the uniform of ±>ost Captain, with the stars of his orders ; his Excellency was in Windsor uniform. Lord Newry appeared in the uniform of his regiment, and the Hon. Eliot Yorke as a Royal Equerry. The first set consisted of his Royal Highness the Prince and the Mayoress vis-a-vis with the Worshipful the Mayor and Miss MannersSutton.'the Hon. Eliot Yorke and Miss Mabel Mauners-Sutton vis-a-vis with Lord Newry and Miss Moore. The Mayor wore the chain which had, at the request of those who presented it, been placed on his neck on Monday by the Prince. It lias already been described in our columns, and we need only say that it formed a haudsome ornament where so much that was ornamental prevail ed. After the first quadrille was finished, his Royal Highness quietly proceeded round the room,- and beyond the occasional courtesies rendered necessary on his own part or on the part of others with whom he unavoidably came in contact, he was allowed an uninterrupted opportunity of seeing all the preparations and decorations in the way that pleased ■ him best. Nothing could exceed the magnificence of the display. The coup d'ceil was most enchanting. There were perhaps too few ladies, but of those present, their exquisite toilettes, their naivete and ■ cd)a/ndon, gave to the scene that peculiar charm and gaiety which appertains to a fancy dress ball.